


Missing Him

by Sharo



Series: Alpha!Xisuma/Omega!Biffa [1]
Category: Hermitcraft
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Multi, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Omegaverse, Omegaverse dynamics, One Shot, Pining, absent mate, background Poly!Hermits, implied Cleo/Joe, implied Xisuma/Biffa, mostly as background, season seven
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:00:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28188861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sharo/pseuds/Sharo
Summary: Xisuma has been distant, Cleo decides to bring him out for some holiday cheer. She wasn't expecting to find a new build inside of his tower.
Series: Alpha!Xisuma/Omega!Biffa [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2113797
Comments: 13
Kudos: 66





	Missing Him

“X? Do you mind if I come in?”

His nametag was visible through the door, though his afk status could mean anything from working on the server coding, resource farming, or even sleeping. Not that their head admin was very well known for that last one. It had taken her long enough to find this location, in the maze of towers in the jungle.

Cleo sighed to herself, and tried the door handle. “Door’s not locked, X, so I’m coming in. You’d better be decent.”

She’d come over to ask for his opinion on the Christmas District, but the sight before her made every question completely run from her head.

Fully half of the room had been converted into an elaborately cozy nest. Magenta and yellow wool filled the floor and covered most of three walls, several hand woven blankets draped over well-loved pillows at the far corner. Lanterns hung from gold ore blocks, reflected light twinkling around the room gently. Crimson planks and fences held the starry sky-painted sheet over one side of the nest. A small desk held a brewing stand and an old worn box of tea. A diamond sword hung from an armour stand next to the door.

And across from the labour of love, Xisuma sat slumped in a chair beside the desk, his bee-themed helmet on his chest and asleep with a thin magenta blanket wrapped around his shoulders.

“Oh, X.” She didn’t want to wake him, but she knew he couldn’t be comfortable like that. Cleo stepped up beside him, and let her hand rest on the nearest shoulder.

The weight alone was enough to bring him to consciousness, silently groaning as the helmet lifted. She knew exactly when he opened his eyes, his breath catching when he looked at the empty nest he was facing.

"Why aren't you sleeping in the nest, X?" She rubbed the shoulder her hand rested on, frowning as he shivered beneath the touch.

His voice was so low she almost didn't catch it. "It's too empty. He's not in it."

Cleo was one of only three people active on the server who knew. That their head admin wasn't the beta most people thought of him as. Knew that the gentle alpha that had taken over responsibility for their worlds had gathered a family, a pack without revealing to most _what_ he was, and allowed them to grow and live free of the prejudice found on most worlds. 

And she knew that his bonded had decided not to join them in this new world, leaving an empty space behind that X had been filling with larger and larger projects, sleeping even less than usual and refusing to build a "home" in his base area so far.

She looked over the nest again, gaze picking out the multitude of pillows and blankets, remembering similarities to another world and teasing the couple once about such a fluffy nest for two people that never seemed to take their armours off. Biffa had brushed it off, but Xisuma had blushed behind his helmet, unintentionally giving himself away. For all that he supported those Hermits that didn’t ‘conform’ to societal standards, he still held onto his secrets. It's not like anyone would judge who built the nest anyway.

He slid sideways into her, his helmet cool against the artfully-tattered shirt she wore. "It'd be about this time of year that we'd share the nest for a few days, take some time off and just be together."

Ah. "An anniversary?"

"Of sorts." His sigh made her own chest ache. "I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't sit here feeling sorry for myself."

Cleo pushed him gently upright, rearranged the blanket over his shoulders, and then straddled his lap to pull him into a hug. "Don't be sorry for missing him. But don't think you have to miss him alone, yeah? You both have plenty of friends still hanging around that would be more than happy to reminisce with you or distract you, X."

His arms were tight around her back, fingers balled into the edges of the blanket and helmet resting on her shoulder as he took a couple of shaky breaths.

"Thank you, Cleo. I appreciate the reminder."

She waited until his hold loosened, then leaned back to bump her forehead against his helmet. "Joe and I planned to work on Christmas decorations today, would you like to join us?"

"That would be nice."

Cleo slid back, getting to her feet and offering Xisuma a hand up. He stood stiffly, the blanket still wrapped around his shoulders, and she realized that he wasn't wearing the majority of his armour. The gold on the inside of the blanket emphasized just how wiry he'd gotten in the last year.

"Looks like Joe is making dinner for us as well," she told him, already sending the message as Xisuma moved towards the chest along the wall. He buckled and latched on the yellow and tan pieces of armour, moving awkwardly until everything was back in place before finally slipping the blanket off and folding it into the nest.

He faced her, straightened his shoulders and tilted his head just slightly. "Would you and Joe care to spend the night with me, after?" He gestured, a little shyly at the nest that could easily hold four with plenty of elbow room. "I can't promise I'll be up for more than a little cuddling-"

Noogies didn't work quite as well with his helmet on, but Cleo pulled him into a headlock anyway, rapping her knuckles on top. "Done. Now let's go play in the snow for a while, get you all cheered up and then smother you with love for the evening." She was already dragging him towards the door, doing her best imitation of an Iskall-cackle as he laughed and squirmed but followed along.

Dutifully warned, Joe set up a small chest monster near the Christmas district portal, ready for a multitude of decorating they probably wouldn't even get to. The decadent hot chocolate was welcome, as they sat up in the flying sleigh and chatted about the area and the holidays, and Hermits both here and gone. And when the sun began to set they returned to the room that Xisuma had decorated, with a hearty stew that Joe had prepared, and talked some more. Until they retired into the nest built for a missed packmate, and fell asleep beneath the blanket of stars, warm and cozy and wrapped around each other for comfort.

And even if no one commented when a magenta-clad elf joined Santa-Etho in the sleigh, it brought a hidden smile to their admin whenever he was in the area.

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by a comment on tumblr from sortingabosincebirth  
>  _Alphas are known to only build nests under circumstances that require one (like your single parent idea), but there are alphas who build nests because they like to or need that comfort for themselves, and there’s no shame in that._


End file.
